Humane Society of the United States president: it's time for animal cruelty to end

Katie Greene | The Grand Rapids PressWayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, lectures about loving animals Thursday, Jan. 19, at Calvin College Chapel in Grand Rapids. The lecture was part of the college's Wake-Up Weekend.

GRAND RAPIDS - Despite most people having significant relationships with a pet during their lifetime, there is a disconnect among them when it comes to proper treatment of animals.

At least, that’s what Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States said Thursday night at Calvin College’s sixth annual Wake Up Weekend.

Pacelle is one of many speakers attending the school’s animal awareness and advocacy festival, which includes several on and off campus events.

“There are big issues related to animals,” Pacelle said. “We have so much love, yet there is so much exploitation of animals.”

Pacelle said people have responsibilities to treat animals well and advocate against animal cruelty.

There are 20,000 animal protection groups in the United States, which Pacelle says is too many – because animal cruelty should not be an issue to begin with.

In the 1850s, before clothing technology was more advanced, Parcelle said killing animals for fur was logical, because nothing else was available.

“But now it’s 2011, we don’t need fur to keep ourselves warm, when folks trek to the North Pole as a measure of trek or exploration… they don’t go in a fur coat, they go in a gortex coat,” he said. “Animals are living, breathing, feeling creatures… they have the same will to live (as humans).”

Pacelle said animals are not the equal of humans in terms of intelligence, and that’s the reason people need to make an effort to protect animals.

He also noted that many people charged with animal abuse also have connections to domestic violence.

“We are all sinners when it comes to animals,” Pacelle said. “It’s a very tough balancing act.”

Pacelle was chosen as Wake Up Weekend’s keynote speaker due to his long commitment to animal protection, said Susan Felch, director of the Calvin College Center for Christian Scholarship.

The Humane Society is reaching out to the Christian and Jewish faiths, who in the past have been very concerned with cruelty of animals, Felch said.

“I think we need to be more conscious of our decisions,” she said. “It’s good to be reminded not to go into neutral, there is no neutral. Every decision has impact on human life and animal life.”

Adam Wolpa, one of the organizers of Wake Up Weekend and a professor of art at Calvin College said the event is fertile ground for development of animal rights.

“There’s a lot of common ground … people don’t want animal cruelty,” he said.

Wolpa said the event is different because it is interdisciplinary, with several events of varying nature -- speeches, a vegan chili cook off and a panel discussion.